On the first few songs from the album Shake It Up, The Cars immediately return to former glories. “Since Your Gone” comes in hard, then mellows out at midtempo with what sounds like clipped handclaps. “Since you’re gone/I can’t help it/Everything’s a mess” sings Ocasek on a track that barely dented the US singles chart. The title track is a new wave classic and dancefloor filler on 80s nights. “Dance all night keep the beat/Don’t you worry ‘bout two left feet”. The call to arms is amazingly the band’s first top 10 single, going to #3. Oddly, “I’m Not the One” would get remixed five years later and released as a single for their first Greatest Hits collection.
“Victim Of Love” has a retro 50s bop to it’s simple drum and keyboard lines that is later matched on “Think It Over” and its poppy chorus, a buzzing guitar that pops every few seconds. Darker is “This Could Be Love” as Ocasek sings “is this the kill, is this the thrill?”. The thrills here are more understated and minimal, it would have not sounded out of place if it came out in indie rock dance boom of the early 2000s. It’s hard to live up to their early success and Shake It Up doesn’t seem to try. Instead the band retreated into their newly build studio to tinker, delivering an understated album of new wave tracks that live in the dark shadows of the club.
7.5/10
The Light Appears 